AN: I am really sorry for the really, really late update. I lost inspiration to write and update this fic. My muse is a fickle thing. Jumping from one idea into another without prompting. Still I hope you are all interested in the fic just enough to stick around.
"Is Itadori joining us for the training today?" Nobara asks her first year classmate.
"No, Gojo-sensei is teaching him how to control his curse energy at the moment. He won't be joining us for a while," is Megumi's answer.
"I see," she says, looking contemplative.
"So are you guys ready to train?" Zenin Maki, or the upperclassman, who introduces herself earlier that day alongside the rest of the Second Years – Panda and Inumaki Toge – says.
"Yes, we are ready!" She responds with false enthusiasm.
Ugh, the tournament will be held a month from now. So I better keep a low profile from here on out, especially during the tournament. Nobara thinks. I don't want the upper echelon of the jujutsu world knowing about me and my abilities.
"Ok. Let's go!" Maki voices out. "Panda, you train with Nobara while I train Megumi here. Sorry Toge. You are going to be on watch duty today."
"Alright Maki!" Panda replies.
"Bonito flakes," Inumaki Toge mumbles before going to sit on the bench.
Nobara goes to the Panda and inquires, "So what are we going to do this morning?"
"Me? I'll be doing nothing but cheer you on. Meanwhile, you will start by doing stretches and then running the track twenty times to keep you limber. After that, I will see how your stamina is going to be after running."
Nobara's response is to scowl at him. "Is that all you are going to do? Cheer me on? How is that going to help with my training?"
"Encouraging a person will motivate said person to do well and help achieve their goal. That's what I am going to do with you. So why don't you start stretching already, Nobara?"
She lets out a sigh before she begins stretching and once she is done with that, she starts running around the track while letting her mind wander.
Nobara is going to try and give Sukuna's cursed finger to Itadori today.
If I know where Gojo-sensei hid him, She thinks inwardly. I will find him first before doing anything... Hopefully he's not far. Otherwise, I will have to track him down, which will be such a pain.
She continues to run all the while thinking about the things that bothered her in the last few days.
Gojo-sensei is still interested in my abilities and I don't know what to do to make him uninterested in me. He already knows that I'm using a different kind of energy when attacking, which can also affect his Infinity. So it's probably too late for him to become uninterested in whatever else I do. She frowns as her mind wanders to her teacher. Although a part of me likes the attention, especially when I get to see how fit Gojo-sensei really is…
A wry smile appears on her lips at the thought.
Meanwhile, Sukuna has really been patient with me when it comes to searching for the rest of his cursed fingers or giving some to Itadori. He hasn't been pestering me about it, which is quite surprising. But I'm glad that he hasn't been bothering me. Otherwise, I would have to cut my visits with him if he was acting like that.
On her tenth lap, she starts to pant.
I think I have already run like ten times along the track already. I need ten more to go before approaching Panda again. And speaking of Panda…
"You go Nobara! Ten more laps to go and you are all done!" Panda has been cheering her on since she began running and he hasn't stopped doing so.
Nobara was just too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice Panda acting like a cheerleader for her. It takes another thirty minutes before she finishes the last ten laps with sweat pouring down her face. She is breathing harshly when she finally approaches Panda.
"So what's next?"
"The next on the agenda is the 'Falling Practice'!" Panda tells her.
"Falling Practice? What's that?" She asks curiously.
"I will show it to you…"
Then, before she can even move, Panda suddenly pulls her by her ankles and starts whirling her around.
Nobara can't help but scream in surprise and anger.
"What the hell are you doing?!" She yells at Panda who continues to whirl her around above his head.
"Like I said, 'Falling Practice'," is Panda's cheerful response.
"What's the 'Falling' part in this?!"
"Like this!" Panda exclaims before throwing Nobara away from him.
Once more, she lets out another scream as she sails through the air and falls down in an ungraceful heap a good distance away from Panda.
"PANDA!" She shouts.
Panda's only response is to laugh at her and Nobara is so pissed that she leaves the place and goes to get some water from the vending machine nearby.
However, she is not the only one who comes for some refreshment. It seems Fushiguro wants a drink too.
"So how was your training with Maki-san?" she asks her classmate as he picks up a water bottle from the vending machine.
"Enlightening. I learned something after watching her fight me," he informs her.
"That's good to hear…" is her only remark.
"How about you? How's your training with Panda?" Megumi inquires.
She is about to reply when she is interrupted all of a sudden.
"So you are the First Years students of Tokyo Jujutsu High," a female says out of nowhere.
Both Nobara and Megumi quickly turn towards the voice and they immediately see two people there. The male is tall and muscular with a bored look on his face while the female resembles Zenin Maki. She must be a relative of hers.
"Yes, we are…and you are?" She hears Megumi state.
"My name is Zenin Mai while he is Todo Aoi. We are from Kyoto Jujutsu Tech," the young woman, Mai, introduces herself and the young man standing beside her.
"It's nice to meet you both… but what are you guys doing here at our school?" Nobara can't help but blurt with a frown on her face.
"Trying to see the competition for the tournament next month of course," the male says, finally breaking his silence.
"Ok…" Nobara draws out the words and glances at Fushiguro, who is also frowning at the other two.
"You both still haven't introduced yourself…It's only common courtesy to do so after the other party has done so first," Mai voices out, grinning maliciously at them.
Nobara looks at Fushiguro again before she returns her attention on the two interlopers and says, "Kugisaki Nobara and he is Fushiguro Megumi."
"Now that you have seen us and know our names…then you are free to leave," Megumi says rudely after her introduction.
Nobara wonders why Fushiguro is acting rude towards the other two.
"Not before we have tested your capabilities first," the male, Todo Aoi, states with a challenging look on his face while he slams his right fist against his left palm in front of him.
"I also have a question for you, Fushiguro Megumi…If you answer correctly, I will not fight you. However, if you answer wrongly, then you will get a taste of my fist first hand."
Nobara observes as a fierce scowl appears on Fushiguro's face.
"I don't care about answering your question," Megumi responds bluntly. "Go ask someone else."
"Too bad then…because I really want to know what type of woman you like," Todo Aoi remarks.
"Ugh Todo! Go ahead and fight him already! Just leave the girl to me," Mai orders impatiently.
"Alright Mai," is Todo's reply right before he launches towards Megumi, who looks surprised at his sudden move.
Nobara focuses her attention on Zenin Mai, who can only be related to Zenin Maki. Even maybe her sister.
I can't show any of my capabilities to these Kyoto students. For certain, they are going to inform the higher ups of this encounter once they are done here. I have to pretend to be really below average, which means acting weak and inexperienced. Nobara inwardly decides. It will be a bad idea to show off to them. It's better that they underestimate me right now.
"Show me what you've got Nobara-chan!" Mai says as she quickly moves and begins attacking her.
Nobara of course instinctively blocks the first attack with her arms crossed and is somewhat glad that the other woman does not use curse energy to enhance her attacks. However, she is still propelled backwards from the kick and she widens her stance to keep herself from completely falling down.
"Good. You have great instincts, but can you keep up?!" Mai tells her in a challenging voice.
"Bring it on!" is Nobara's only answer as she prepares herself for the woman's next move.
Her opponent blurs and Nobara watches closely as the other woman starts attacking her without pausing.
Mai is a whirl of motion. Her kicks and punches land on Nobara because she allows it to. She lets herself get hurt without hesitation because of one purpose.
The fight would definitely go to her if Nobara fights with her true power.
However, that's not Nobara's goal.
She needs to make the Kyoto Jujutsu students think that she is weak and to underestimate her, which will be a great advantage for her during the tournament.
Hence, Nobara pretends to be far more injured than she is and acts like an inexperienced jujutsu sorcerer. She doesn't pull out her weapon of choice, which is her nail and hammer from her utility belt. Especially not even her magic or chakra.
She no longer blocks or evades Mai's attacks. Instead she lets the other woman defeat her without a fuss.
Nobara only falls down unto the ground with the hopes of ending the fight soon. She pretends to be close to unconscious when the Second Years of Tokyo Jujutsu High arrive to stop the fight between Todo Aoi and Fushiguro Megumi as well as Nobara's fight.
"Stop it Mai!"
Nobara hears Maki's sharp order and she peers from beneath her lids to observe what is going on around her.
She can feel the curse energy of the people around her, except for those who don't have one like Maki. She can see that Panda, Inumaki and Fushiguro are close by too. However, Fushiguro appears to be injured after his fight with Todo.
"Hello Maki…" the other Zenin sneers. "I see that you have stopped the fight between Todo and your schoolmate."
"What are you doing here Mai?!"
"Just testing the first year students, Maki…and all I can say is that they are such a disappointment. It wouldn't be a fight at all if we face them again during the tournament," Mai remarks. Then, she says as she points at Nobara on the ground, "This one is so weak that she is like a punching bag. She lets me attack her without retaliation. Pathetic!"
"Shut up, Mai!" Maki snarls at the other Zenin. "Leave her be before I do something drastic to you!"
"Whatever Maki. We are just leaving. We are finished toying with the First Years," Mai replies. "Come on Todo. Let's go and leave. We have done what we came here for."
"Alright, Mai. Let's go!" Todo Aoi says.
"Until next time Nobara-chan!" Mai calls out mockingly at Nobara, who glares at the other Zenin.
Afterward, the Second Year students help Nobara and Fushiguro tend to their injuries.
Meanwhile, Nobara can only sigh in relief when she thinks about her fight.
I didn't give anything away. The Kyoto Jujutsu students don't suspect anything. She contemplates. They think that I'm weak and of no consequence. They will not look twice at me the next time they see me and that's a good thing. It's a great advantage to be underestimated. My enemies won't expect much from me and that will be their downfall.
Nobara continues to think.
Now that our training is cut short. I better look for Itadori and give him one of the cursed fingers that I secreted away. I am sure Sukuna will be happy to hear about the great news once Itadori takes one of the cursed fingers.
Later...
Nobara is already so familiar with Itadori's curse energy that she manages to locate him in one of the basement rooms in the campus.
She would have texted Gojo-sensei and asked about Itadori's whereabouts but she is certain that Gojo-sensei will just tell her to leave Itadori alone for a while, mainly because her classmate needs more training with his curse energy.
Still she ignores what Gojo-sensei expects of her and goes to Itadori's location without hesitation.
When she opens the door to the basement, she immediately sees her other classmate watching a tv drama. She also notes the stuffed toy with boxing gloves placed in front of him.
"Itadori," she says loudly and Nobara watches when Itadori suddenly jerks around in surprise.
That is when the stuffed toy suddenly punches him in the face and Nobara can't help but laugh out loud.
"What the hell?!" Itadori yells in anger at the stuffed toy. "Stupid toy!"
Nobara just looks at him in amusement.
"What are you doing here Kugisaki?" the other boy asks when he sets aside the toy and turns his attention to her.
"I am here because I have something to give you," she informs him.
"Does Gojo-sensei know that you are here?" he inquires while his eyes narrow on her.
"No," she admits to him. "I didn't let him know. If I did, he would just stop me from approaching you."
"Ok…What are you going to give me, Kugisaki?" he asks her.
"This…" she states as she slowly reveals the small wooden box containing Sukuna's cursed finger.
"What's that?" Itadori says curiously.
"Come take a look," Nobara tells him.
"Alright," he replies as he approaches her.
Nobara then hands him the wooden box, which has an enchantment to suppress Sukuna's powerful curse energy.
She observes as Itadori opens the box and stares in shock at its content.
"Is this what I think it is?" he whispers in astonishment.
"Yes, that's one of Sukuna's fingers," she reveals.
"Where did you get it?" He inquires as he looks at her closely.
"Sorry. It's a secret. I can't really tell you…. All you need to know is that there were no curse spirits around it when I discovered it at a hidden location. So I was able to retrieve it easily," Nobara imparts honestly. She did find it at a secure location without any curse spirits nearby.
"Well, I'm glad you didn't encounter any nasty curse spirits when you found this Nobara. It can really be difficult to retrieve the fingers if there are any of those curse spirits around," is his comment.
"Yeah…anyway, you can ingest the cursed finger now. I want to see how your body takes it," she says to him.
"Sure," he replies.
Nobara then watches as her classmate picks up the cursed finger from the box before he swallows it whole.
For a few seconds, nothing happens to Itadori, who looks like he is about to puke.
Nobara thinks that's all there is to it. That Sukuna is not going to manifest in Itadori's body.
"Well, it doesn't look like something is happen–" Itadori is saying when he suddenly transforms.
Soon tattoos and small eyes begin appearing on Itadori's face as Sukuna takes over his body.
"Hello Nobara-chan," Itadori – or rather Sukuna – immediately drawls the moment his eyes land on her.
"Sukuna," she greets, watching him carefully.
"Thanks for giving this vessel my cursed fingers, Nobara-chan. I can tell that my assimilation is going well already. It will be in no time before I get to have a permanent body again," Sukuna tells her, grinning widely with his sharp teeth.
"That's good to hear," she replies smoothly. "It will be another week or so before I can give him another of your cursed fingers."
"There's no rush, Nobara-chan. Take your time," Sukuna tells her, smiling as he reaches out to cup her face with his clawed hand.
"Alright," is her response, smiling in return.
Then, without warning, the King of Curses pulls her closer to him and hugs her tightly.
Her body is flush against him so much so that Nobara can feel the hard contours of his body through her clothes. A flush suffuses her face while she can feel her heart beat erratically at their close proximity.
"Thank you, Nobara-chan…for helping me. I know I couldn't do this without you," Sukuna admits to her warmly.
Nobara feels conflicted when she hears his admission. Honestly, she is only helping Sukuna accumulate his fingers and regain a body so that she can send him back to the Beyond permanently. She is planning to exorcize him from Itadori's body once the boy ingested all of Sukuna's cursed fingers.
It's the right thing to do…but as the time draws closer and closer to that inevitable occasion, Nobara is having a difficult time remaining firm in her belief. Her conviction slowly and easily erodes as she continues to spend time with Sukuna.
She has grown closer to him after all the years since she found her first cursed finger.
Nobara couldn't stop feeling guilty when she thought about exorcizing Sukuna permanently.
It only becomes even more difficult when Sukuna shows his soft side to Nobara like he is doing to her now. This is not the first time that Sukuna has showed affection to her, but this is the first time that Sukuna has hugged her, in real life and although possessing Itadori's body.
"Of course, Sukuna. I will help you achieve everything you want to achieve," Nobara lies and she can feel the guilt burning inside her. Her heart breaks at the thought of someday exorcising Sukuna; her confidant, her teacher and her friend.
In the end, Nobara won't have a choice on the matter. Either she exorcise Sukuna in the future or unleashes him into the world once more, where he will bring chaos and destruction in his wake.
Nobara will have to choose whether to choose for the good of humanity or her heart.
It inevitably comes down to her decision and the world shall tremble at her final choice.
"Come and celebrate with me, Nobara-chan..." Sukuna whispers into her ear as he tightens his hold on her.
Nobara's heart skips a beat at that.
"Dance with me..." is his next words to her.
She doesn't mind accepting his request of course.
Sukuna seems to be in a festive mood, especially now that he has assimilated the second cursed finger for his vessel.
Hence, she allows Sukuna to dance with her. Slowly waltzing around the basement to both Sukuna's and Nobara's amusement.
She likes this part in Sukuna. Being playful and considerate. Unfortunately, Sukuna is also inherently evil and Nobara can't change that for the most part.
Nobara just hopes that everything goes according to her plan in the future. Otherwise she won't know what else to do if her plan derails.
As Sukuna twirls her around, the King of Curses says, "I think this is the first time I have touch you in real life..."
"Yes," is her only shy response.
"Then, let me savor this - or rather, let me savor you for a moment," he whispers into her ear, which sends pleasant tingles down her spine.
"I rather like the feel of you in my arms," the King of Curses admits to her.
Nobara's response is to blush and just presses her forehead on Sukuna's shoulder to hide her scarlet face.
"Why are you hiding your face, Nobara-chan?...Did I just make you blush?" Sukuna teases and Nobara can only huff before hiding her face all the more.
She hears Sukuna's chuckle and she can't help but feel the warmth that settles in her belly when she hears his laughter.
"You are so amusing, Nobara-chan..." He murmurs to her as he suddenly dips her and Nobara can only gasp at the sudden move.
"But that's the way you are...and I love it," he states as he pulls her up and twirls her around again.
Nobara feels her heart skip a beat again when she hears his remark.
"You always have a way to brighten my day...I am so glad to have met you and I -" The King of Curses suddenly stiffens and Nobara looks up to see his face darkening dangerously.
"Someone is coming," he tells her hurriedly. "I must -"
However, it's far too late. The door opens without warning and in walks a certain white-haired teacher.
The most powerful jujutsu sorcerer in Japan, if not the world.
Gojo Saturo.
AN: I know nothing really happened in this chapter. So sorry about that. You can check for my writing updates on my tumblr. Just search bloomsburry-dhazel. Anyway, please don't hesitate to tell me what you think!